Machine for tapping nuts



(No Model.) 4 Sneets--Sheet 1.

W. H. EDDY.

MACHINE FOR TAPPING NUTS. No. 388,851. Patented Sept. 4, 1888.

(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 2 W. H. EDDY.

MACHINE FOR TAPPING NUTS.

No. 388,851. Patented Sept. 4, 1888.

W/ TNESSES,

4 SheetsSheet 3.

(No Model.)

W. H. EDDY.

MACHINE FOR TAPPING NUTS.

No. 388,851. Patented Sept. 4, 1888.

INVENTOR. %#4Z41 WITNESSES;

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

W. H. EDDY.

MACHINE FOR TAPPING NUTS.

No. 388,851. Patented Sept. 4, 1888.

lNVENTOR;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM H. EDDY, OF \VORCESTER, MASSAUHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR TAPPING NUTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 388,851, dated September 4, 1888.

Application filed JunolS, ISFS.

2'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM II. EDDY, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vorcester, in the county of \Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Tapping Nuts, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description of thcsamc, accompanied by drawings representing a nut-tapping machine embodying my invention, in which- Figure I is a front elevation; Fig. 2,a vertical sectional view; Fig. 3, a perspective view showing the mouth of one of the separators. Fig. 4 is an end View of the sliding nut-holder, as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a detached and top view of the sliding nut-holder. Fig. 6 is a top view of the hopper and separators. Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view ofthe machine. Fig. 8 is an end view of one of the rotating tap-holding chucks. Fig. 9 is ascctional view of the same. Fig. 10 is a detached view of the rotating head and its locking device. Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of thedriving-shafts and actuating-cams. Fig. 12 shows the device for withdrawing the tap. Fig. 13 shows the same with the tap withdrawn. Fig. 14 is asectional view, and Fig. 15 an end view, of the same.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several views.

Myinvention has for its object to automatically present the nut-blanks to the tapping mechanism, and also to automatically remove the th readcd nuts from the taps. I attain these objects by means of the mechanism hereinafter described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

A A represent the frame ofthe machine, upon which are mounted the several operating parts, and Within which are contained in the main the actuating mechanism.

B is the driving-shaft, to which power is applied through a belt-pulley, a, and a yielding spring-clutch, a, of any known construction,by which an undue resistance will check the operation of the machine before breakage occurs and allow the driving-pulley to run on the shaft B.

Rotary motion is imparted to the gear 0 on the main driving-she ft through the interme- Serial No.16fif702. (No model.)

diate gear, 0, and its attached pinion 0 both running on a stud in the frame, and the gear a on the shaft C, and through the miter-gears d, d, and d to the shafts l), I), and I said shafts (l, l), E, and E carrying the several actuating-cams, hereinafter mentioned.

A bevel -gear,c,on the shaft (7 drives th rough a bevel-gear, e, on a short vertical shaft journaled in a bearing attached to the frame of the machine and having the arm carrying at its outer end astud or roll, 0', which at each rotation of the arm c enters one of a series of four radial slots, a Fig. 2, in a plate-wheel attached to the vertical shaft F, to which the head G is attached, carrying the revolving tapholding chucks f. At each rotation of the arm 0 the head (I is turned one-quarter of a revolution, bringing the tapsf in the position shown in Fig. 7, with a period of rest between each quarter-rotation of the head G to allow the operation of tapping the nuts to be performed. Upon the vertical shaft F the sleeve F turns, having a bevel'gear, F driven by the bevel-gear F" on the driving-shaft l and a bevel-gear,h",engagingbeveled pinions F", by which the tap-holding chucksfare revolved.

II II II are the nut-holders, sliding in ways attached to the frame and actuated by the bent levers II, cams 11 and weights H. Tubular stacks or chutes I are attached to the upper sides of the ways supporting the sliding nut-holders II, and to the upper ends of the stacks are hinged the separators I, with their ends resting in a rotating hopper, J, driven by a belt'connection from the vertical shaft 0, which is geared by the miter-gears to the shaft 0. The nut-blanks are placed in a mass in the hopper J and brought by its motion against the mouths of the separators I in l a manner similar to that known as the Sloan feed in screw-machines. In my machine, however, I form the mouths of the separators in the form shown in Fig. 3, with the upper and under sides projecting and forming trian' gular lips and g". The pointed lips serve to part the mass of nut-blanks, which would otherwise clog the mouth, and receive those nutblanks which are presented in a horizontal position between the lips. The separators are connected by springs g with a swinging lever, I", which is actuated by a pin, 9, on the bevel Lin gear driven by a similar gear on the shaft 0, so that at stated intervals the separators are raised, allowing the nut-blanks contained in them to slideinto the stacks or chutes l. The lower nut-blanks in the column of nuts held in the chutes I fall into the recessed ends of the sliding holders II, when they are held in their normal position by the cams H", the blanks resting on the plate I), and when the taps are presented to the nut-blanksthe rotation of the cams II allows the weights II" to fall and carry the nut-holding slides II forward, as shown by broken lines in Fig. 5, the revolving taps cut ting a thread in the nut-blanks and entering holes h, Fig. 4, in the slides. The nut-blanks are securely held in the recessed ends of the slides II by blade springs h, attached to the sides of the slides H and having their ends bent at right angles over the end of the slide, so as to prevent the blank from falling out. These springs are held against the slides by the inclosing frame-work, which allows them to expand when the slide is carried forward and release the nut.

The operation of tapping the three blanks in each of the slides by the taps f is carried on simultaneously, and each nut is carried over the threaded portion of the tap upon the plain portion or neck, so that each tap asitis brought around and presented to the nut-releasing devices will have three nuts,1', Fig. 12, strung upon it. As each tap leaves the last nut-holding slide on the right of the machine, it enters a slotted plate, K, curved eccentrically to the axis of the rotating head G, so that as the tap is carried through the slot in the plate its threaded portion and the shallow groove j in the tap will be carried entirely through the plate K, which will crowd the nuts back toward the chucks.

The nut-releasing devices consist ofa plate, L, sliding in ways mounted on the bed of the machine and carrying the bent pivoted levers k k, with their inner ends adapted to seize the tap at the groovej. The plate L carries in a chamber the spiral spring 7;, Fig. 14,with its end resting against the plate k attached to the supporting-ways, by which spring the plate L is held against the end of the slotted plate K in the position shown in Fig. 12. A wedgeshaped block, if, sliding in a slot, It, in the plate L, is moved outward when the tap is brought between the opposing jaws of the le vers k k by means of the lever L, pivoted to the frame at If, Fig. 1, and actuated bya suitably-formed can], L", Fig. 11. As the wedgeshaped block k is carried between the outer ends of the lovers k k, their jaws are brought against the grooved portion j of the tap and the sliding plate L drawn back into the position shown in Fig. 13, compressing thespring It" and withdrawing the tap from the revolving chuck f and carrying it through the slotted plate K, thereby stripping off the nuts 6. By reversing the motion of the Wedgeshapcd block It" the tension of the spiral spring L will carry the plate L back into the position in Fig. 12 and return the tap to the chuck. The jaws of the levers 7: I; are arranged in a vertical plane and the taps f are successively brought between thejaws by the intermittent rotary motion of the head G, and as each tap is brought into position between thcjaws its end is brought in contact with the beveled surface of the head 6 of the boltl, pushing the bolt outward and compressing the spiral spring Z", whose tension, pressing against the end of the tap, insures its complete entrance into the revolving chuck. The shank j ofthe tap is square, fitting a rectangular space, in", Fig. 8, formed by the face of the jaws M in the revolving chucks.

The construction and operation of the revolving chucks are shown in Fig. 2, and more fully in detail in Figs. 8 and 9. They consist of hollow spindles M, held in equidistant and radial bearings in the rotating head (1. The larger and outer ends of the hollow spindles M carry a pair of jaws, M, fulcrunied on the screws m, against which they are held by the spring m. I countersink the cndsof the jaws at m, Fig. 9, to allow the ready admission of the tap to the jaws, and at the inner end of the face of the jaws I form a projecting shoulder, m, to limit the entrance and receive the end-thrust of the tap. The action of the spring at is applied to thejaws slightly in front of the fulcrum-screws in, so the rear ends, at, of the jaws press upon a sliding pin, M", held from turning by a screw, m, entering a groove in the pin. The pin M holds the rear ends, m, of the jaws apart, so as to hold the shank j of the tap firmly in the chuck, and the release of the tap is effected by sliding the pin M" and bringing the thinner section (shown at m Fig. 9) between the ends in, allowing the outer ends of the jaws to open slightly and permit the tap to be withdrawn. As soon as the tap is returned,a reverse sliding motion is given to the pin M and the tap again seized by the jaws M. Necks m on the pins M are engaged by the vertical forked levers N, Fig. 2, pivoted in lugs attached to the revolving shaft F, and as each of the revolving chucks is brought by the intermittent rotation of the head G into position to present its tap to the action of the withdrawing mechanism, already described, and shown in Figs. 12 to 15, the corresponding vertical lever, N, will be brought into position to be engaged by a sliding plate, N, Fig. 7, having a transverse curved groove on its under side lying in the path of the buttonshaped head a of the vertical levers N, and into which they are successively brought. The proper sliding motion is given to the plate N by means of the horizontal pivoted lever N connected to the upper end of the vertical pivoted lever N, whose lower end isactuated by a cam, N, attached to the shaft 0, said cam having a suitably-formed slot on its side to effect the outward sliding motion of the plate N through the intervening mechanism, consisting of the lever N and plate Nflat the same IIO cam, I", on the shaft 0 and held in one of the four equidistant notches 1) in the under edge of the head G. In case any of the nuts fail to pass completely over the threaded portion of the tap they will be brought against the eeccntrically-eurved slotted guard-plate K and the machine stopped whenever the resistance exceeds the force of the motive power as applied to the machine.

As the several chucks are constantly revolving, their jaws M should only be opened far enough to release the tap when seized by the withdrawing mechanism, so the tap when returned will be rotated as soon as its squared shank j is brought coincident with the met angular space in the jaws M; otherwise itwill be liable to be seized by its corners and the sliding pin M prevented from entering.

In my mechanism for feeding the nut-blanks I use a hopper of a peculiar lorm, having its upper edge, J, turned inward to return any blanks which may be forced up the side to the center; and at the centcrof the hopper I form the cone J", forming an annular valley or depression, into which the mouths of the separators are carried, so the hopper maybe nearly or quite cleared of blanks. ()n theupper sides of the separators I place the lozengeshaped blocks 0, with their acute angles presented to a blank sliding along the upper surface of the separator, thereby returning them to thehopper.

A springcheck, 0, retains the column of blanks in the separator as it is raised until its alignment with the chute I is secured. The springs yield whenever any obstruction is offered to the swinging action of the separators.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a head having an intermittent rotary motion, a continuonsly-rotiating gear concentric with said head, aseries of chucks journalcd in said head and having gears engaged by said concentric gear, taps held in said chucks, and mechanism, substan tially as described, for presenting the nut blanks to said rotating taps.

2. The combination, with a tap and connected mechanism for rotating the same, of a sliding plate sliding in ways attached to the frame of the machine for the purpose of carrying the blank against the rotating tap, and elastic blades attached to the sides of said sliding plate and held against the nut blank by their contact with the ways of the sliding plate, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a tap having con nccted means for rotating the same, of a slid ing plate for presenting the nutblanks to the tap, a bell-crank lever having one arm connectcd with said sliding plate and the opposite arm weighted, and a rotating cam by which the fall of said weighted arm is determined and the action of the lever reversed, substan tially as described.

4. The combination, with a rotating hopper, of a hinged separator and a stationary receiving stack, said separator being provided at its lower end or mouth with the pointed projecting lips fig, by which the nut blanks coming in contact with said lips are parted laterally, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the separators, substantially as described, of the lozenge shaped guards attached to the upper surface of the separators, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, with a revolving hopper for holding the nut-blanks and one or more vibrating separators, of yielding spring-connections connecting said vibrating separators with actuating mechanism for raising them at intervals, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a nut-tapping machine, the rotating hopper having its sides turned inwardly at the top, in combination with a separator having a triangular pointed mouth for parting the nutblanks laterally, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with a rotating head carrying one or more revolving taps, of a curved and slotted guard-platc placed eccentrically to the rotating head and through whose slot the taps are successively carried, as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination, with a rotating head carrying a series of revolving tap-holding chucks, of a series of tap-holding chucks journaled in hearings in said head and consisting ofa hollow spindle carryingjaws having mechanism for opening and closing the same, said jaws forming a rectangular space to admit the shank of the tap, countersunk in front at m, and having interior shoulder or projection, of, to receive the end'thrust upon the tap, as and for the purpose set forth.

10. The combination of the hollow spindle M, jaws M, fulcru med on the adj listing-screws m, adjusting'screws m, carried in the spindle M, spring m, placed between said jaws and in advance of said fulcrunrscrews, and a sliding pin, M having the inclined surfaces m and flattened section m, substantially as described.

11. The combination of a head having an intermittent rotary motion, a series of tapholding chucks journaled in said head and having a continuous rotary motion, taps held in said chucks, a series of sliding plates for presenting the nut-blanks to said taps, and withdrawing mechanism for withdrawing said taps from their rotating chucks, all combined and operating substantially as described.

12. The combination, with a head having an intermittent rotary motion, and a series of chucks journaled in said head and having a ing an annular groove to receive a pair ot'j withdrawing-jaws, and a pair of withdrawingjaws pivoted upon a sliding plate having a slid ing motion toward and away from said tapholding chuck, substantially as described.

14. The bent pivoted lcverslsk, sliding plate I ,ating the sliding plate conjointly with the L, spring k, and sliding wedge-shaped block [63, with mechanism for actuating the same, all combined and operating as described, and for the purpose set forth.

15. The combination, with the rotating chucksf, carrying tapsf and held in a head having an intermittent rotary motion, and mechanism, substantially as described, for withdrawing said taps from and returning them to their chucks, ot' the sliding bolt 1', having a head, Z, with a beveled surface lying in the path of the taps f as they are carried by the rotating head, and a spring, I", as and for the purpose set forth.

16. The combination, with a head having an intermittent rotary motion and carrying a series of tapholding chucks journaled in said head, of a locking device consisting of asliding pin, P, entering a hole in said head and provided with a weight and a rotating cam, P, substantially as described.

17. The combination otjaws M, springs m, sliding pins M", levers N, all carried in a head having an intermittent rotating motion, and sliding plate N, adapted to engage and actuate each of the levers N successively as they are brought beneath it, with mechanism for opermechanism for withdrawing the tap, as and for the purpose set forth.

18. The combination. with a rotating tap, of plate 5, sliding holder ll, sliding in ways fixed to the frame ot the machine, stack l, and elastic blades 11 It, attached to the sliding holder II, substantially as described.

\VILLIAM II. EDDY.

Witnesses:

RUFUs BENNETT FOWLER,

lIIARLIGS F. S'rnvnss. 

